Archive | 2019
The Mustassaf of Castelló de la Plana
Abstract
This chapter examines the institution of the mustassaf, a municipal officer in the towns of the post-Conquest Crown of Aragon. The origin of this office and its etymology is traced back to ancient Greece and thence through the Byzantine and Arab worlds to the newly conquered Kingdom of Valencia. The mustassaf became the second most powerful town official and his responsibilities expanded to include oversight of the marketplace, public health, building and infrastructure, and the town’s defenses. After a discussion of the legal foundation of the office of the mustassaf, four case studies are laid out in which specific aspects of the mustassaf’s regulatory role are elucidated.